26 January 2018Official weekly newsletter of NUST

Namibia University of Science and TechnologyNUST_Namibia

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An award-winning university• Rated Best Higher Education Institution in Namibia (PMR, 2016)• Rated Most Innovative Institution in Namibia (PMR, 2016)

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Building a World-Class UniversityTjivikua spoke about the current strategic plan which ends this year. The elaborate plan was designed to fully address the transformation from a polytechnic to a university, which has been successfully accomplished. The next plan, commencing next year, will focus on redefining the University’s commitment to its mandate, especially the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields, as well as research and innovation. “We are a technological university, therefore we aim to ensure that the STEM fields and innovation really stand out,” Tjivikua remarked. He emphasised that the characteristics of a world-class university include: abundant resources, concentration of talent, and favourable governance. The keynote address was delivered by Professor Rolf Stumpf, a Higher Education Consultant, and a former Vice-Chancellor of Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University. Stumpf played a pivotal role in the crafting of Namibia’s new higher

education landscape study of 2012, which aimed to redefine the higher education sector. “Top class universities should, in general, receive funding from three funding streams: government allocations, student fees, and a variety of ‘own’ income sources,” he said. Stumpf cautioned that without adequate resources, achieving a world-class status remains a ‘pipe dream.’ He added that tuition fees have become a difficult political “hot potato” in many African countries largely as a result of an increase in the demand of tertiary education and a shortage of financial resources experienced by governments. Stumpf cautioned that either way, if resources are limited, this will have a bearing on the standards of institutions. Stumpf thus urged the University to refrain from resigning itself to a fate determined by a lack of resources, emphasising that strengthening ties with industry, amongst others, would provide relief.

During the annual NUST Academic Welcome, the Institution’s community was directed to strive for excellence, in line with this year’s theme: ‘Building a World-Class University.’ Annually, the event provides the Vice-Chancellor with an opportunity to address the university community and set the tone for the year.

A boost for 570 unemployed youth

The graduates completed a series of free short courses in Events Planning, Social Innovation, Social Media, Entrepreneurship, Project Management and Photography. The initiative strictly targets unemployed youths with the aim to address the challenges they face. The government of Finland supports the Namibian government in creating new opportunities for young people and encouraging entrepreneurship, through funding programmes such as RLabs. Her Excellency, Ambassador Pirkko-Liisa Kyöstilä said: “Namibia’s Fifth National Development Plan (NDP5), identifies youth empowerment as one of its targets. In 2014, the youth unemployment rate was at 39% and according to recent reports, it has increased to 43.4%. The NDP5 target is to decrease this to 33% by 2022. Therefore, the RLabs project

capacitates underprivileged young people to benefit from economic opportunities.” Kyöstilä added that she was pleased that 70% of the graduates are female, saying this symbolises progress in terms of achieving gender equality.The free courses are aimed at individuals between 18-35 years, who are eager to acquire new skills. Emilia Shikwamhanda, the RLabs Country Coordinator, highlighted that more than 1 000 young people have graduated at RLabs Namibia since its inception in 2012. Furthermore, under the same programme, the first crowdfunding platform in Namibia, known as Namstarter was launched. It is a platform where business ideas are shared with the purpose of raising small amounts of money from a large number of people.

570 unemployed youths graduated from the Reconstruction Living Labs Namibia (RLabs), which is a social innovation programme under the Namibia Business Innovation Institute (NBII), at NUST.

The company availed internship opportunities to students from the three institutions and the workshop was held to enable the cohort to become familiar with workplace conduct. Soft skills were highly regarded in the workshop as an essential element to get the students ready to enter the job market with the right attitude.Kula Information Technology systems signed a Memorandum of Understanding with NUST last year, and committed to mentor students in IT-related matters and other business functions. “We appreciate this gesture from our partner.

Mentorship is the cornerstone for skills development which will improve the employability of graduates,” remarked Martha Namutuwa, an Industry Liason Officer at NUST’s Cooperative Education Unit (CEU).CEU has over the years advocated for strong partnerships between academia and the private sector as a means of ensuring that classroom education remains relevant to industry needs through the practical exposure that students gain during the Work Integrated Learning (WIL) course.

Staff and students from NUST, University of Namibia and International University of Management attended an induction workshop hosted by Kula Information Technology Systems.

Tech company partners with universities

NEW STUDENTS ORIENTATION (compulsory)DAY 1: Saturday, 27 January 2018 TIME: 08:00 VENUE: Auditorium 1, NUST Lower Campus (Streaming of presentations inAuditorium 2, 3, South and North) ENQUIRIES: +264 61 207 2165

Joel Eelu, Deputy HOD, Computer Science: Faculty of Computing and Informatics (left, next to banner); Martha Namutuwa, Industry Liason Officer: Cooperative Education Unit (right, next to banner); David Hamunyela, Co-Director: Kula Information Technology Systems (crouching, in white shirt); and Kwathiindje Hamunyela, Co- Director: Kula Information Technology Systems (crouching, in khaki shirt), pictured with staff and students.

Dr Tjama Tjivikua, NUST Vice-Chancellor. Professor Rolf Stumpf, Higher Education Consultant.

FROM LEFT: Eposhe Simon, Graduate; Her Excellency Pirkko-Liisa Kyöstil: Finnish Ambassadorto Namibia; and Dr Gert Günzel, NUST Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Finance and Administration.